Burning Rubber: Harley-Davidson Moves Production Out of U.S. Following Trump’s Tariff War

The most iconic American motorcycle brand, Harley-Davidson, will see its production move out of the United States as President Trump’s retaliatory trade tariffs backfire.

So, this escalated quickly–the trade tariff back-and-forth we find ourselves in has claimed a new victim: Harley-Davidson. According to CNN Money, the iconic American motorcycle brand is shifting some production (not all, thank God) for European customers out of the United States to avoid EU retaliatory tariffs brought on after President Trump shot out some imposed tariffs on some goods.

We’re not sure if this was anticipated or if anything besides whiskey, bananas or other produce were going to take a hit, but sheesh, motorcycle brands? According to the brand itself Harley was projecting it would lose about $100 million er year due to the tariffs.

Harley-Davidson will move some production out of US after retaliatory tariffs imposed by President Trump.

A Line in the Sand

The EU began imposing tariffs this past Friday on a plethora of American goods at an estimated total of $3.2 billion. Things like peanut butter, bourbon, orange juice and motorboats were on the list, but Harley’s? This comes on the heels of the blistering tariffs Trump put out on EU products like steel and aluminum.

The EU raised its 6% tariff to a whopping 31% on motorcycles, making each bike about $2,200 more costly to ship out. Through all the mess, though, Harley-Davidson says it will not be raising retail prices for customers. Instead, the motorcycle brand says it is expecting to take a nosedive of anywhere between $30 and $45 million for the rest of 2018, and about $100 million annually moving forward. Ouch.

So, What Next?

Well, Harley-Davidson makes most of its bikes at plants in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Missouri, but now there’s speculation on if the company will see a chunk of employees getting the boot. The company is “assessing potential impact” on that front, waiting and seeing if the new tariffs brought on by Trump will in fact not only cost money, but jobs. Oh, and Harley’s stock took a 6% hit on Monday.